We’re excited for Coachella again this year – especially when we paid for tickets back in June of last year and still won’t receive our passes until March. Anyhow, we are selling 2 of our 3 day passes for $550 – one of the best prices you will see out there right now as many tickets are going for $700. Send us an email if interested. HAPPY COACHELLA.

This years lineup include headliners Black Keyes, Radiohead, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dog.

Setlist: The Cure: Reflections at the Pantages Theatre, Nov. 22, 2011
Three Imaginary Boys: 10:15 Saturday Night / Accuracy / Grinding Halt / Another Day / Object / Subway Song / Foxy Lady (Jimi Hendrix cover) / Meathook / So What / Fire in Cairo / It’s Not You / Three Imaginary Boys / Untitled (aka The Weedy Burton)
Seventeen Seconds: A Reflection / Play for Today / Secrets / In Your House / Three / The Final Sound / A Forest / M / At Night / Seventeen Seconds
Faith: The Holy Hour / Primary / Other Voices / All Cats Are Grey / The Funeral Party / Doubt / The Drowning Man / Faith
First encore: World War / I’m Cold / Plastic Passion / Boys Don’t Cry / Killing an Arab / Jumping Someone Else’s Train > Another Journey by Train
Second encore: Descent / Splintered in the Head / Charlotte Sometimes / The Hanging Garden
Third encore: Let’s Go to Bed / The Walk / The Lovecats

While nothing will ever compare to my first time seeing the Cure in the 1989 at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan and having seen them 20+ times since then, this past Tuesdays performance will forever be one that I will treasure as a long time fan. While I have to admit that I haven’t listened to these early records in a little while, it was very refreshing to pull them back out. As a result, I found myself having a new found appreciation for them then to see them played live really made me appreciate them even more.

The show at the Pantages Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard is normally where off-broadway shows are done so I wasn’t sure how the sound would turn out but I was actually very impressed. I literally felt like the Cure were playing in my garage with a raw sound (using Roland amps, Fender guitars) that was well adjusted for this intimate venue and with a decent light show and fog machines to match – but it was all about the music this night! My seat was in the first row of the mezzanine, which was perfect so I could look over the balcony and straight down into the band without having people stand in front of me. This allowed me to get lots of photos and videos; treasures for any long-time Cure fan.

The first set started with songs from Three Imaginary Boys starting with 10:15 Saturday night, a classic Cure song with just Robert, Jason and Simon. Robert said he wanted to do something different than the prior night, so he didn’t shave, which was quite funny; gotta love Roberts sense of humor. The songs from this set felt a little rushed for some reason but understandable when having to play an entire album. I really enjoy these songs because of the upbeat, post-punk feel that they contain which is obvious very reminiscent of the time period when they were written. On The Weedy Burton, Robert joked about how he hopes he’ll be able to not fuck this song up again. It’s a relatively basic blues progression and indeed, Robert pulled it off nicely. A highlight from this set was seeing Robert play harmonica on the subway song, even though it was only 3 or 4 notes. I don’t know why, but it was just a cool sound and feel.

The 2nd set was songs from Seventeen Seconds and are some of my favorites. Simon’s bass tone and style are just incredible on this record. Roger O’Donnell joined them on stage on keyboards. The energy of the crowd finally came alive around the time A forest was played. I’ve seen this song played in the past with extended versions for a good 1/2 hour. A-C-F-D are the 4 main chords of this song but the aura of this song always lures me in every time I hear it. At the end of the set, Robert say’s, “see you next year…or 5 minutes.”

The 3rd set found Lol Tolhurst joining in for some keys and percussion. I found it really great to see Lol up there, considering he was an original member of the Cure/Easy Cure. The faith record is definitely a mellower record than all of these but it was by far the best set. For me, the coolest part of the Cure is that they are musicians who have played together for so long that they are like a well oiled machine that runs smoothly. The Cure clearly have an intuitive sense of how melodies work together while leaving a ton of open space yet sound like a full orchestra of sounds and colorful notes at the right times within a song. Anyhow, this set had me really moved and delighted by what I was seeing in front of me; “other voices” was my favorite. And who can go wrong with “primary” with its pounding E-A-E-D bass line.

After the first 3 sets, I was super excited to see what oldies Robert and the boys would pull out. Highlight of the 1st encore was “killing an arab” and “jumping someone elses train”. The third set was a great way to end the night with a ton more energy and just seeing Robert having fun being silly and dancing in his goofy way with his old-lady body. It’s so great to see people still loving what they are doing after 30 years of doing it! After the show I picked up some limited edition posters and shirts and walked away with a feeling of being complete again. Something about the Cure has always lifted my spirits and this show made me feel like I was a kid again. Enjoy the videos and photos! Please leave comments and share!!


To see many photos and videos – go to www.facebook.com/koboldt

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Robert Smith

Check out the Barbarian Overlords at the Roxy on December 3rd in Hollywood! www.barbarianoverlords.com

REVIEW MAG LINK – CLICK HERE

We are super stoked to be seeing the Cure in LA at Pantages Theatre on November 22nd having seen them numerous times since our first show in 1989 for the Prayer Tour.

Featuring THREE IMAGINARY BOYS (1979), SEVENTEEN SECONDS (1980) and FAITH (1981) played in their entirety.

“REFLECTIONS” sees an evolving line up of band members past and present playing the first three Cure albums live in their entirety – from the punchy, offbeat, starkly unadorned songs of Three Imaginary Boys (1979), through the increasingly shadowy and quixotic pieces of Seventeen Seconds (1980), to the singular melancholic grandeur of Faith (1981) – in a truly extraordinary concert experience.

This final chance to experience the “REFLECTIONS” show will happen in Europe at the Royal Albert Hall, London on Tuesday November 15th, and in the USA at the Pantages Theatre, LA on Monday 21st, Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd, and at the Beacon Theatre, NYC on Friday 25th, Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th.

SET 1 (approx 40 minutes)
‘THREE IMAGINARY BOYS’ (1979)
The Cure Trio – ROBERT SMITH: Voice & Guitar / SIMON GALLUP: Bass / JASON COOPER: Drums
>approx 15 minute changeover interval

SET 2 (approx 40 minutes)
‘SEVENTEEN SECONDS’ (1980)
The Cure Quartet – ROBERT SMITH: Voice & Guitar / SIMON GALLUP: Bass / JASON COOPER: Drums / ROGER O’DONNELL: Keys
>approx 15 minute changeover interval

SET 3 (approx 40 minutes)
‘FAITH’ (1981)
The Cure Quintet – ROBERT SMITH: Voice & Guitar / SIMON GALLUP: Bass / JASON COOPER: Drums / ROGER O’DONNELL: Keys & Percussion / LAURENCE TOLHURST: Keys & Percussion
>approx 5 minute interval

SET 4 (approx 30 minutes)

‘ENCORES’ of the period…

www.thecure.com

This is an international ISPO contest for innovation that BambooSK8 is a part of right now for 2 weeks only… They need all the votes and comments they can get. Will you help the planet?

GO TO www.facebook.com/ispo.brandnew.awards and “like” it
GO TO “hottest brands” on the left side
Click the arrow to VOTE for your favorite
Search through the list for BAMBOOSK8 – click on it… “like” it and then leave a positive comment.

Want to learn more about the music business with DIY attitude? Click!

Out of Step Entertainment is proud to support the release of Cherri Bomb’s new ep STARK released on Hollywood Records.  These young girls have done more in the past year than most bands their entire careers.

www.cherribombband.com

https://www.facebook.com/cherribombband

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/stark-ep/id470587202

I was proud to help out for the 4th straight year by donating goods and $ donation to the Standup for Skateparks charity event in Beverly Hills at billionaire Ron Burkle’s green acres estate.  I know, you are all asking – who the hell is Ron Burkle?  If you ever shopped at Ralph’s food stores, then there’s one connection.  How about owning a piece of the Pittsburgh Penguins or owning 20% of Barnes and Noble; there’s more!  Anyhow, lucky for Tony Hawk that Ron provides his humble abode to let Tony invite 850 guests at a price of $400 donation each to mingle with celebrities (if you are lucky or brave) like actor Mark Wahlberg or mega producer Jon Favreau or UFC champion Chuck Lidell or rockstar Perry Farrel of Janes Addiction, watch some live music by the Black Keys (yet, literally 20 feet in front of you on a tiny little stage), watch some amazing skating on the vert ramp (amazing that they are allowed to bring the massive ramp and tear up Ron’s yard) with Shaun White, Tony Hawk, Mitchie Brusco, Bucky Lasek, as well as bmx freestyle by Matt Hoffman, get a ton of free shit from a variety of vendors (t-mobile, art of board, dub, nixon, birdhouse, pinks, wahoo’s, best buy, etc.), chat with pro skaters like Mike Vallely, Jamie Thomas, Kevin Stab, etc., and a ton more….  The live auctions this year were off the hook with autographed guitars by Pearl Jam, Taylor Swift, Rancid, Janes Addiction and the coolest one that I bid on at $1275 (beating out Ron Burkle) and won = the 1950′s Fender Telecaster toured with and autographed by all members of Green Day.  Other auction items included a tricked out Ford Explorer that went for over $40k, a customized triumph motorcycle by Roland Sands that went for $30k, a ton of autographed pro skateboards (paul rodriguez, nyjay houston, ryan scheckler and shaun white) completely framed by sk8ology, as well as the opportunity to get your own pro skateboard made by Tony Hawk’s team for $250.  Our BambooSK8 skate board autographed by the band CHERRI BOMB on Hollywood Records went for $70 the last bid we saw, but hopefully more.  Needless to say, despite the down economy, things were looking up for charity this year as people reached deep into their pockets.  We can all feel good about helping to get skateparks built in low income, at-risk neighborhoods throughout this great country of ours.  The foundation has helped 405 parks get build already in 49 states; Connecticut is the only one remaining.  http://standupforskateparks.org/

On November 21st, 22nd and 23rd, The Cure will perform their first three albums in their entirety at the Pantages Theatre.

On each night, the band will play four sets, comprised of the following: 1979′s Three Imaginary Boys, 1980′s Seventeen Seconds, 1981′s Faith, and an encore.  Reportedly along for these shows are percussionists/keyboardists Roger O’Donnell and Laurence Tolhurst.

Tickets won’t be available for purchase via Ticketmaster until October 31st at 10 am, so plan accordingly. This is being billed as the “last chance” to see these shows together, so if you want to be there, make sure to get tickets as soon as they go onsale.

The Cure is one of my favorite bands, and a band I have seen many times since the first show in 1989 when I was a child.  Robert Smith and gang are like a fine wine getting better with age.

Check out the new ArthurAutumn record – www.arthurautumn.com – CD will be available on August 16th.

Download 3 free songs from Cherri Bomb right now – www.cherribombband.com

The girls just got done playing some festivals in the UK.

You can never have a bad experience at the Hollywood Bowl with all its enchanting beauty nestled in the Hollywood Hills.  Recently, I attended a few great shows there…

STAR WARS – 6/3/11

Imagine a pink floyd laser light show coupled with a live orchestra playing along to various parts of the Star wars saga, along with C3PO narrating the film.  This $125/ticket show superseded my expectations by a long shot; also because we had box seats.  I still recall seeing the movie as a child and still to this day have hundreds of Star Wars memorabilia back at my parents house.

PLAYBOY JAZZ FESTIVAL – 6/12/11

This was my first time and what an awesome experience it was.  The main headliner was blues legend Buddy Guy who was amazing to say the least but things really picked up when he pulled out a 12 year old guitar shredder who could not only sing but play the blues like it was nothing; very inspiring!!  Other highlights were Naturally 7 (an acapello group who uses their voices as instruments) and  Still Black, Still Proud: An African Tribute to James Brown Featuring Pee Wee Ellis, Fred Wesley, Vusi Mahlasela, Meklit Hadero.  http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117945434

MOTLEY CRUE / POISON / NY DOLLS – 6/14/11

Having been a Crue fan since I was 8 years old, it’s always amazing to see them as it takes me back to my youth.  While Vince Neil can’t really hit most of the high notes anymore, he still belts it out with great energy.  Mick Mars, who just won’t die as Nikki Sixx says, was a true master on his guitar with soaring pinch harmonics, whammy bar sweeps and a  hard rocking sound.  Nikki, who writes most of the songs always holds the rhythm locked down.  Tommy Lee – need I say more?  That dude rocks so hard.  A highlight was watching him go upside down playing along with his techno/dj- styled beats to a wild spinning visual.  He even brought a girl out from the audience, strapped her in, and took her for a wild ride upside down on the circular roller coaster drumset.  

Poison, who i’ve been a fan of since 7th grade were equally great to see but a little too heavy on the guitar wanker guitar solos of CC Deville.  Brett Michaels down-to-earth gracefullness fully made up for it though.  Being alive after his illness last year and still touring with his best friends for 25 years made for a special night.  “Every rose has its thorn” was the crowd pleaser by a long shot. 

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/concert-review-motley-crue-at-202516

Over memorial day weekend, my fiance and I took off to the mountains behind Irvine for the yearly mini-burningman styled event otherwise known as Lightning in a bottle put on by the Do Lab.  As always we run into members of our Burningman camp “Playa Surfers” which is alway a delight to catch up with old friends and dance the night away.  One of the headlining acts on Saturday was “PRETTY LIGHTS” – check out some free downloads (please donate $) at www.prettylightsmusic.com - There is an awesome PINK FLOYD re-mix that I thoroughly enjoyed.  Mimosa is another great artist.

For those that have been living in a barn, the purple Yoda has been rocking the LA Forum with a goal of 21 night in LA. 2 of which were spent playing the Troubador last week, which was amazing, as it only fits about 500 people total. I had the priviledge of seeing the open show at the Forum, which was a true delight, as is every time I have seen Prince; Empire ball room in Vegas, Rio in Vegas, Staples in LA, House of Blues in Hollywood, etc. All I can say is 5 encores from a true musical genius!!

By Gavin Edwards @ rolling stone
April 15, 2011 10:25 AM ET
“Inglewood is mine!” shouted Prince – and after two hours of thrilling music, no one could doubt him. On opening night of his 21-show run at the Forum just outside Los Angeles, Prince performed an epic 15-minute version of “Purple Rain,” climaxing with purple confetti stars shot from a cannon. He brought celebrities onstage, ranging from Eva Longoria to Javier Bardem. He even duetted with special guest Sheila E. in matching gold lame outfits. So when Prince declared victory and the house lights went up, over half of the crowd headed for the parking lot, sated. The fans who stuck around? After waiting 15 minutes, they got four additional encores: 11 songs that took the show way past midnight.

The current iteration of Prince’s band the New Power Generation includes multiple keyboardists (and identical-twin dancers), but no guitarists. And for about half the show, Prince eschewed the guitar himself. So a song like “Kiss,” originally built around a shimmering guitar lick, was transformed into a funky synth groove – interesting, if not really successful. But when Prince strapped on his six-string, he played heroically, transforming “Little Red Corvette” into a bluesy showcase, hammering his way through a grungy “Peach,” and spinning long, lyrical solos in “Sometimes It Snows in April.”

Prince performed many of his songs in truncated versions – none shorter than “Darling Nikki,” where the band churned out only the opening riff before Prince cut the raunchy tune off, saying, “I’m in rehab!” The concert also included a bevy of covers, including Sylvester’s “Dance (Disco Heat)” and, in a showcase for the backup singers, Bob Dylan’s 1997 “Make You Feel My Love.” Most interesting was a mash-up version of Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” where Prince acted as hype-man, exhorting the backup singers before interpolating his own composition, the Time hit “Cool.”

At age 52, Prince is no longer a whirling dervish onstage – his days of splits are done. But he still has an unfailing sense of showmanship: While his band had to exit the stage via a staircase, the undisputed star of the show made use of a hydraulic lift in the middle of the stage. Even as Prince vanished from sight, he could strike a pose. Even better theater came from the three slow jams that ended the main set: “Insatiable,” “Scandalous,” and the heavenly “Adore.” Pretending to resist the band –”there’s going to be some baby-making if we play this!”– Prince sang in glorious falsetto, and then shied away from the microphone. It looked as if Prince, like everyone else in the audience, couldn’t believe the noises coming out of his throat.

For those who paid $25 for a ticket (as 85 percent of the audience did), that meant the three-and-a-half-hour show cost roughly $7 an hour – a little below minimum wage. (Don’t worry about how Prince affords those sparkling shoes and fringed ponchos; the other seats were priced from $205 to $781.) By the end of the marathon, a bargain arena show had become its own intimate after-party; it felt like Prince might invite the remaining audience members over to his house for basketball and pancakes.

Prince and the New Power Generation at the Forum in Inglewood, CA, April 14, 2011:

DMSR
Pop Life
Prince and the Band / Musicology
Extraordinary
Uptown
Raspberry Beret
Cream
Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough / Cool
Let’s Work
U Got the Look
Make You Feel My Love
Purple Rain
Let’s Go Crazy / Delirious / Let’s Go Crazy
1999
The Beautiful Ones
Little Red Corvette
Kiss
When Doves Cry / Nasty Girl / Sign O The Times / Darling Nikki / Single Ladies
If I Was Your Girlfriend
Insatiable
Scandalous
Adore

First encore:
A Love Bizarre (with Sheila E.)
Play That Funky Music
Controversy

Second encore:
The Glamorous Life (with Sheila E.)
Peach

Third encore:
Dance (Disco Heat)
Baby I’m a Star

Fourth encore:
Stratus
Sometimes It Snows in April

Fifth encore:
Laydown
Endorphinmachine
She’s Always in My Hair
Dreamer
Welcome 2 America

http://uk.sonispherefestivals.com/

Out of Step Entertainment is proud to support Cherri Bomb, who was just recently added to the UK Sonisphere festival with headliners Metallica and the BIG 4.   

The last four acts for BOHEMIA come in the form of CHERRI BOMB, ANBERLIN and TURBOWOLF. Sheffield hardcore heroes WHILE SHE SLEEPS open proceedings on the Saturday, before LA all girl rock troupe CHERRI BOMB show the UK why they are fast being hailed as “Rock’s New Generation”, with the Sunday playing host to US alt-rockers ANBERLIN, and Bristolian electro-noise-rockers TURBOWOLF, who will take the stage after HOWARD MARKS’s Sunday sermon slot.

What a rare treat it was to see Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell playing acoustically at the wonderful Ford Ampitheatre on 5/4/11 in Hollywood.  The night air was brisk with the open sky up above and mountains directly behind.  It is clear that Cornell is one of the great singers of our generation with deep lyrics that penetrate with his smokers grit voice, which opens up an amazing soulful vocal range.  A major highlight for me was during Led Zepplins cover of “thank you”… when he sang those captivating lyrics – the hairs on my arm stood up and tears naturally fell from my eyes; it was absoutely beautiful and memorable.  His wife and child were at the side of the stage with Chris commenting, “My kid is asleep and my wife is talking…”

SET LIST (NOT 100% IN ORDER):

On the A&R front,  veteran A&R Executive Joie Manda joins Warner Bros. in California after leading the Independent Label Group for Warner Music in New York. Tim Byrne moves to SYCO LA from London to be Creative Director and to help launch X-Factor. At Sony’s two main labels, there’s been a bit of activity in A&R with the addition of Ankur Malhotra who joins Epic from Capitol, while Andrew McInnes & Omar Grant both exit the department and Jay Harren exits Columbia and Renee Bell exits Sony Music Nashville. Over in the UK, Simon McCulloch & Alastair Webber both join Island, while Adrian Jolly joins Mercury.

My buddy Johnny and I travelled the 3 hours from LA out to Indio, CA in the hot ass desert for the 1st N. American stop EVER of the Big 4 – Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax.  Now, a 2nd show has been added in NY.  So where do I start?  Well, I grew up on metal as a young kid (8 years old) and we had a great music store called “heavy metal unlimited” in Saginaw, Michigan that helped feed my thirst for  cool metal acts; King Diamond, Exodus, Slayer, Celtic Frost,  Ozzy/Black Sabbath, Accept, Quiet Riot, Metallica, Anthrax, SOD, Judas Priest, etc.  I can still recall hearing Metallica’s “master of puppets” for the first time – there’s just something incredibly special about that record that I will never forget; I literally can hear it and it takes me back to that day.  In 7th grade, I had a SOD back patch on my jean jacket and a skeleton hanging in my locker – my principal thought I worshipped the devil and called my parents who laughed at the fact that I was an “A” student.  In 8th grade gym class, we had to do a skit so we did it to an Anthrax metal/rap song; If I could only get that video now.  Around 2001, after buying my first house in California, I was at the Home Depot buying some gardening stuff and I turned around in line and it was Kerry King from Slayer – I was like “wow” – California rules!!!  Needless to say, this show was something I had to see – as I actually had never seen Anthrax, Slayer or Megadeth play live as my musical choice of concerts changed after high school.  Nonetheless, I’m grateful for the experience; especially as we had VIP passes which gave us access right near the stage with over 50,000 fans.  I’m old so I had to wear my ear plugs! aha! 

Anthrax was on fire – jumping all over the stage and rocking out the thrash metal to old classics like “indians”.  Scott Ian is still a machine on guitar!

Megadeth – I wasn’t impressed with how unemotional Dave Mustaine is but nonetheless, their style is very unique and very technical.  Peace sells but whose buying will always be a memorable song.  Symphony of destruction is another.

Slayer – kudos to their drummer Dave Lombardo- how he plays double bass at that speed is beyond me!  Hits like Seasons in the abyss, dead skin mask, etc.  Kerry King is still a big guitar shredder.  Tom Araya is a bad ass.  Jeff Hanneman played only a few songs at the end - apparently something about being ill.

Metallica – it’s obvious when they hit the stage why they are the biggest commercial success in metal music.  Beautiful melodies, rhythmic beats, well crafted lyrics that penetrate, etc.  This was my 3rd time seeing Metallica over the years and every time, they are great.  I was fortunate to go to the MUSICARES charity event held in honor of James Hetfield years ago and got to meet Lars, who was super cool.  I hated his whiney ass during the NAPSTER thing but he will always be one of my favorite drummers to watch. 

Here’s a proper review from SPIN:

After 30 years, it was the first American show to feature all the members of “The Big 4″ — Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax — the bands whose speed-drunk riffs and apocalyptic imagery vaulted “thrash metal” from cult obsession/Tipper Gore irritant to chart-topping, arena-clogging cultural force. The legendary beefs between bands had been squashed, the phrase “heavy metal Woodstock” had been bandied about, it truly felt like one for the history books. But the reality was more like what Slayer frontman Tom Araya told SPIN a few days earlier: “Even though it’s billed as the Big 4, it’s really more of a Metallica show.”

You could sense it in the crowd of 50,000-or-so, who were whipping out a constellation of camera phones to take photos of The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly playing on the video monitors before Metallica took the stage. You could feel it in the rapturous, reverent smoosh that took over the Metallica audience after a day of lackluster moshing. Hell, be it the 85 degree heat, the older and doughier age range of the attendees, or the mellow California vibes, the circle pits were small, sporadic and downright friendly until maybe 130 minutes into the afternoon, when Megadeth hurled out “Peace Sells.”

But mostly, you could feel it in Metallica, who weren’t going to get shown up by their three most formidable peers. By the end of their second song, 1984′s catch-and-release “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” guitarist Kirk Hammett had taken an extended, shredtastic outro solo, bassist Robert Trujillo had done his trademark crabwalk, and drummer Lars Ulrich was playing chunks of the song standing up.

And then… fireworks!

Metallica had no time for the nostalgia the event implied, and they did all the things that the 1986 Metallica would never do: allowing a plane fly overhead advertising a Mötley Crüe show, using those goofy stands that hold up your acoustic guitar, calling a song “All Nightmare Long” and then playing it. They were a perfect maelstrom of unashamed arena-grade showmanship (fireworks blasted for all the big reveals in “Enter Sandman”) and human, danger-soaked playing (they included more flubbed notes and crooked tempos than the other three bands). The crowd loved them for both. There’s a reason why they’re the only band of the evening with a 10-times platinum album.

That burden should have come with a dash of humility. Even if insincere and forced, it was certainly expected that their stage banter should have maybe included a few more loving tributes to the other three bands, beyond the “Aw look!” when Anthrax’s Scott Ian hugged Mustaine before members of all the bands jammed mightily on Diamond Head’s “Am I Evil?” And after that historic, retweetable moment, Metallica still had to get two more of their own songs in, making sure they ultimately get the last word here.

But Metallica show or not: No matter where Slayer goes, a Slayer show follows. Their version of “Raining Blood” was downright terrifying, boasting an Armageddon-ready tension before that main riff kicks in. Just before the moshpit turned into a gaping maw, someone literally said, “We’re getting the hell out of here!”

Slayer brought not only moshpits, but burly dudes who bulldozed handy thru-way lanes to get to moshpits. Slayer had no patience for the feel-good vibe of the fest even though you could spy the ferris wheel in the JumboTron while drummer Dave Lombardo did the aggro-jazz splatter of “Seasons In The Abyss.” When founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman magically appeared to help on the last two songs (he’s been sidelined due to a flesh eating virus) they didn’t even say so much as “hello.”

Anthrax and Megadeth both played tidy hour-long sets that were high on both hits and melancholy. Dave Mustaine had the most nuanced vocal delivery of the day, the open expanses of “Sweating Bullets” and “A Tout Le Monde” providing a great canvas for his cutting snarl. A Snuffleupagus of cascading hair and a double-necked guitar too heavy to whip around, Mustaine still captivated the audience by staring coldly into their very center. But his icy demeanor was clearly warmed by set’s end, the way he so gratefully mouthed “Thank you, thank you.”

Similarly, Anthrax knew they would be caught up in the moment — two of them wore “Big 4″ T-shirts, they waved an American flag with the Big 4 logo — so they unleashed a fan-pleasing, all-hits, no-goofiness (sorry, “I’m The Man” fans) set of pre-1991 churners. They did deliver the brand new “Fight ‘Em Til You Can’t,” but it was played meaner and harder than anything else in their set. A heavy metal superfan to the core, Scott Ian looked like he was going to cry as he left the stage. Try telling him that this was just a Metallica show.

http://www.bamboosk8.com/misc/music.php/

On the A&R front, the big news of course was the hiring of former EMI A&R Executive Nick Gatfield as President of Sony UK. Other UK news includes the exit of Ellie Giles from Fiction while Gary Harris joins Fiction. Here in the US, both G. Roberson, Exec. VP and Jean Nelson, VP, A&R-Urban exit Atlantic. And of course the really big news was the move of Lucian Grainge to the Chairman/CEO post at Universal and the move of Doug Morris from Universal to Sony. We’re also hearing that Island Def Jam Chairman Antonio L.A. Reid is in talks with Universal for a new music venture and possibly stepping down from his post at IDJ (more info at http://bit.ly/dUcJNX ).

<img style=”visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;” border=0 width=0 height=0 src=”http://c.gigcount.com/wildfire/IMP/CXNID=2000002.0NXC/bT*xJmx*PTEyOTk2NDY3MDEyNzAmcHQ9MTI5OTY*NjcwMzI4MiZwPTI3MDgxJmQ9cHJvX3BsYXllcl9maXJzdF9nZW4mZz*xJm89/MzMzMGQwZjA*ZGVmNGM4NWI1MGQxMDEyMjVmOGQ1YmEmb2Y9MA==.gif” /><embed type=”application/x-shockwave-flash” src=”http://cache.reverbnation.com/widgets/swf/40/pro_widget.swf” height=”300″ width=”180″ align=”top” bgcolor=”#ffffff” loop=”false” wmode=”opaque” quality=”best” allowScriptAccess=”always” allowNetworking=”all” allowFullScreen=”true” seamlesstabbing=”false” flashvars=”id=artist_38668&posted_by=&skin_id=PWAS1003&background_color=EEEEEE&border_color=000000&auto_play=false&shuffle=false&song_ids=4400949″ /><br /><img style=”visibility:hidden;width:0px;height:0px;” border=0 width=0 height=0 src=”http://www.reverbnation.com/widgets/trk/40/artist_38668//t.gif” />

We are very happy to have chosen WORLDVERSUSME for the #1 spot on the Green Washed Ritual II music compilation.  WVM, from Los Angeles was chosen for their incredible artistic vision along with songs that crossed different genres such as rock, techno, industrial, alternative, etc.  With over 180,000 fans across a variety of social media platforms, they have tons of great things happening for them right now.   http://www.reverbnation.com/worldversusme

#2 place went to E-dubble

E-dubble has a smooth rap style, great story-telling and a solid amount of people consistently listening to him daily.  He is represented by Black Paisley Records in Baltimore.   http://www.reverbnation.com/e-dubble#!/edubble

In addition to these great musical acts, we decided to offer 2 additional opportunities to 2 more bands that were very well received from the skateboard community.

#3 – Soul Sanctuary  http://www.reverbnation.com/soulsanctuary

#4 – SheLoom  http://www.reverbnation.com/sheloom

Check out the music page of BambooSK8, world leader in sustainable bamboo skateboards.  www.bamboosk8.com/music

We’ve spent an absorbant amount of time reviewing the music of over 100 artists so far that have sought out our opportunity to be featured on the Green Washed Ritual  II digital music compilation with BambooSK8 – world leaders in action sports / skateboarding.  We feel all artists deserve more than a simple “sorry- not chosen” so we actually spend the extra 15 minutes for each artist to provide them some constructive feedback on what we thought about their music, image, social media, profile, etc.  For every 10 emails back thanking us, there is always 1 cry-baby who can’t handle being rejected.  Scroll to the bottom to see the negative responses. 

xxx

Date: 01/31/2011 9:00 PM

xxx

Date: 02/01/2011 7:34 AM

xxx

Date: 01/24/2011 4:34 PM

http://twitter.com/ReverbNation/status/25665905102950400

If interested in applying to be a part of a major compilation “green washed ritual II” - check out this tweet.

If you are a reverbnation artist, then check your email for a direct link.  This was sent to over 1 million bands.

There has been a tremendous amount of activity and movement within the A&R community over the last two months. Alex Luke and Michael Howe both join Dan McCarroll’s West Coast A&R team at Capitol while writer/producer Mike Elizondo joins Rob Cavallo’s A&R team at Warner Bros. The other addition to the Warner Bros. A&R team is former Jive A&R veteran Jeff Fenster who is returning to Los Angeles after nearly two decades in New York. Two additional transplants from NYC to LA are former J/Arista Sony Executive Larry Jackson who joins Jimmy Iovine’s team at Interscope and Atlantic’s Sam Riback who moves to the LA office. Meanwhile in NY, Adonis Sutherin joins Jive, Steve Lunt exists Atlantic and Ian Dench exists Epic. Longtime Motown A&R executive Lionel ‘KK’ Rosemond leaves to join indie powerhouse label E1 while in the UK, Mercury A&R executive Thomas Haimovici leaves to join the Warner Bros.-UK team.
 
Looking back at the activity within the A&R/Record Label community this past year, only twenty-three A&R executives were hired in 2010 and only two of those (Mark Williams and Vlad Bar) had ever been in A&R executive jobs before. Compare the twenty-three hired in 2010 to the fifty-eight hired in 2009 or the eighty hired in 2007! Only ten A&R executives in 2010 (compared to fourteen in 2009) were fortunate to leave one A&R job for another. That list includes Jeff Fenster, Larry Jackson, Michael Howe, Chris Anakute, Lionel ‘KK’ Rosemond, Thomas Haimovici, Qiana Conley, Lindsey Cook, Dan McCarroll and Gary Overton (while Dan McCarroll and Gary Overton are the Presidents of Capitol and Sony Music Nashville respectively and are not A&R executives per se, we’re including them because of their leadership role in driving their label’s creative departments and Conley is included since she joins Simon Cowell’s SYCO in an A&R capacity from her creative position at Notting Hill Music Publishing).
 
Sadly, there were 40 A&R executives who exited their A&R positions in 2010 and not one of them has landed another job in the A&R field (we’re including the three Major Label Presidents who have exited from their jobs since October: Tom Whalley from Warner Bros., Amanda Ghost from Epic, and Rob Stevenson from Virgin). While forty exits from A&R in 2010 was less than the fifty-one exits in 2009, the sixty-four A&R exits in 2008 or the one-hundred, twenty nine who exited in 2007, we’re still moved by the sheer numbers and the loss of talent our industry has endured over the last several years. And as we head into 2011, it’s with a sense of sadness that for all intents & purposes EMI will most likely be sold or closed (of course, we realize we’ve been saying this for the last two years). If and when this legendary label falls, it will mean the record industry as we knew it has shrunk by 50% over the last decade. But, the reassuring and enduring aspect of the Music Industry is that it continues to be filled with visionaries, forward-thinkers and immense talent that will always find a way to prevail, inspire and entertain.

1/11/11 - Reverbnation featured our opportunity for 2 artists to be selected and featured on the Green Washed Ritual II; a digital music compilation that will be distributed by BambooSK8.  BambooSK8 will provide access to the compilation via its website at www.bamboosk8.com and at a variety of action sports events in 2011 (X-games, Malouf Money Cup, Dew Tour, Vans Warped Tour, etc.)  We are excited at this new opportunity to work with ReverbNation, who have created an amazing platform for artists utilizing the latest in social media tools.  Other artists already selected for this compilation include:  Pepper, Slightly Stoopid, Giving Tree Band, Noush Skaugen, Cherri Bomb and the Aggrolites. 

Check it out at  http://www.bamboosk8.com/misc/music.php

ReverbNation is the leading online music marketing platform used by more than 1,000,000Artists, Managers, Record Labels, and Venues to grow their reach, influence, and business across the internet.  ReverbNation provides free and affordable solutions to individual Artists and the music industry professionals that support them in the areas of web promotion, fan relationship management, digital distribution, social media marketing, direct-to-fan e-commerce, fan behavior measurement, sentiment tracking, Web site hosting, and concert booking and promotion.

We would like to thank Sonicbids who featured Out of Step Entertainment in its last email campaign to its hundreds of thousands of users.  We have used Sonicbids for over 5 years now and value their platform for evaluating artists.  Last year alone, over 70,000 gigs were booked through them.  On the first day alone, over 3000+ people viewed the Out of Step profile.  One thing is for certain, we will always listen to the music and give honest feedback to those that submit to us.  Below are some voluntary reviews of Out of Step:

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Read about Cherri Bomb shooting a 3D video in January:

http://marketsaw.blogspot.com/2010/12/exclusive-passmorelab-teams-with-teen.html

http://www.artistdirect.com/entertainment-news/article/slash-to-perform-for-shred-kids-cancer-charity/8167451

The power of persuasion is a valuable tool. Teagan Stedman, founder of the nonprofit Shred Kids’ Cancer, managed to convince legendary guitarist Slash to perform at the Rock Nation Monster Showcase The Highlands in Hollywood on Saturday, December 11, 2010. The proceeds from the show will be donated to the charity.

BambooSK8, world producer of eco-friendly, sustainable skateboards made from Bamboo attended the KI event in San Francisco to show off their amazing skateboards to the Northern California culture.  The Ki event was held at Treasure Island and featured a variety of companies involved in sustainability, eco, lifestyle, etc.   www.theki.net

Where do I even begin?   99% of you already know of Pink Floyd’s classic “the Wall” – written predominantly by 67 year old Roger Waters.  Fast forward 30+ years, add a 200′ wide x 30′ tall set of bricks, pyrotechnics, animation, digital HD projections (which took thousands of hours to construct), a flying blimp pig, 30′ tall inflatable teacher, an airplane that crashes and blows up into a fireball, etc. – welcome to the 2010 version of the WALL.  BRILLIANT AND GENIUS!!!  $60 million to construct this…and the tour will likely end up making over $200 million, not including merchandising.  My $250 ticket was worth every single penny!!

All I can say is thank you Pink Floyd for writing some of the greatest, timeless music we’ve ever heard…  200+ million records sold

Cherri Bomb signs with Hollywood powerhouse Creative Artist Agency (CAA) and is now represented by Michelle Jubelirer with the law firm of KING, HOLMES, PATERNO. 

http://www.reverbnation.com/cherribomb

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http://www.bamboosk8.com/news/2010/10/tony-hawk-standup-for-skateparks-beverly-hills-green-acres-estates-october-17th-2010/

Lots of changes in the Music Industry these last several weeks. Several companies moved to new locations including SESAC’s Los Angeles office, Universal, 679, Loog and Decca in London, Downtown’s California office and S-Curve in New York. A&R veteran Mark Williams joined Sony’s Columbia Records in LA, Epic has added Alaska Gedeon to the A&R department in New York, Chris McCourt has joined Atlantic in the UK, Triss Penna is leading the new Arista imprint revived in the UK, and David Gray has moved from Simon Cowell’s Sony imprint SYCO’s New York office to the Los Angeles office. We’re sad to report that Capitol’s Director of A&R Research Marc Nathan has left, while Kahbran White exited Hollywood, Ron Del Rio exited Maloof and Joanna Thomas exited Putumayo.

http://blog.hipstersunited.com/2010/09/19/cherri-bomb-to-join-pumpkins-tour/

Congrats to Cherri Bomb and special thanks to Billy Corgan!!  I remember back in the early 90′s in E. Lansing, Michigan when the Smashing Pumpkins played with Pearl Jam and Red Hot Chilli Peppers – can you guess which band stole the show?

Billy Corgan tweeted this morning that the Smashing Pumpkins will be joined on tour by Cherri Bomb, an all-girl teenage rock band from Los Angeles.

What an awesome kick off of the Sunset Strip Music Festival… 13 year old rockers Cherri Bomb tearing up the Roxy with their own original songs and a few covers of the Foo Fighters, Doxy and Ana Lovelis songs.  Rocks next generation opened up for Filter (hey man nice shot….) but earlier in the night got to walk the red carpet at the House of Blues for the tribute to Slash, who was recognized for his 20+ years on the strip made famous during the time with Guns and Roses.  The Smashing Pumpkins will headline this weekends festival.

I can’t say enough positive things about these girls and I’m truly happy to help them with their career.  They have a solid team behind them, a little funding for the 4 billboards in Hollywood and tons of music industry folks asking a lot of questions.  Most importantly though – they have a work ethic that is unmatched and a desire to truly craft brilliant songs that will hopefully change a generation.  It’s nice to see young girls making a dent in music and not sitting around playing guitar hero or rock band but actually playing their instruments and inspiring others to do the same.  Schecter guitars are a new sponsor!!

Last minute, 3 hours before show time, I scored some tickets and headed down with my buddy Mark to Humphreys on the Bay in San Diego. I was floored at the intimacy of the venue and the location in the harbor with the sailboats and the sunset nearby was amazing.  Nothing could have prepared me though for the thrill of seeing rodrigo y gabriela perform. Their chemistry was magical and their style of acoustic guitar playing is inspiring with a little bit of wah wah and chorus.   Being a musician myself, I could feel them making love to their instruments, like you should when you perform.  If it weren’t enough that a white dove flew around but then a falling star fell from the sky and literally landed over top of the stage – the whole crowd was like “wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…did you see that?”

They don’t speak much english but their stories when they did speak were quite funny and inspiring. They did covers of Metallica’s “orion” to which they said it has been such an honor to meet Metallica. Rumor has it that Robert Trujilio, bassist of Metalllica would be joining them in LA at the Greek Theatre. That will be amazing!! They also did Pink Floyd and a variety of songs from their records – many of which play tribute to jimi hendrix, carlos santana and other guitar greats from around the world.

A+

BambooSK8′s Green Washed Ritual II digital compilation to feature:

Noush Skaugen – www.noushskaugen.com - 1.2 million twitter followers

Giving tree band – www.thegivingtreeband.com – one of the “greenest” bands touring

New Affect – www.thenewaffect.com – electro/funk/soul

Cherri Bomb – www.cherribombband.com – rocks youngest talent

To learn more about this amazing compilation for the action sports world – check out:

http://www.bamboosk8.com/misc/music.php

On Wednesday, their video “spin” had 5372 views. We at Out Of Step Entertainment thought, hmmm…. let us see if we can help grow the exposure so we pumped it through our social media channels of twitter, facebook, stumbleupon hookit and many more. Within 2 hours, it was up to 12,000 and by the end of the day near 20,000. 24 hours later- 59,000 views and growing. Now, it’s never just one person who can take credit for success like this, especially as these young girls have 4 billboards in Hollywood right now, as well as the mere fact that they are simply talented and that speaks for itself. Do you think most bands would invest like that? Only those who are serious would… which is the difference in why these young girls are being highly sought after by lawyers, major labels, etc. We are excited to assist and will keep the strategy growing with their parents/managers to bring about rocks new generation.

If you believe in the power of music and that music can change the world, then I ask each of you to truly pass this video onto others. There is simply no other band like these young girls – especially ones that aren’t buying into the whole DISNEY model of success or Justin Bieber-styled success. Okay, we like his hair!!

http://www.reverbnation.com/cherribomb

www.warpedtour.com

We’ll be at the Warped Tour in San Diego on August 10th and Pomona on August 11th – stop by the Concrete Wave/BambooSK8 booth and pick up your passport to be redeemed for free prizes ranging from bamboo skateboards to patches to sticker packs to shirts and much more.

We review a lot of bands via sonicbids and it always disappoints us when people don’t put forth the due diligence to improve their chances of being selected for either management, a licensing opportunity or being on a compilation.  Please do the following (ALWAYS):

1.  Music should be unique, relevant with most recent material posted and don’t forget the lyrics

2.  Put up your best video of your live performance or your creative videos but we prefer the former

3.   Demonstrate that you’ve been touring and really want this – touring is what helps bands grow and the live show is critical to ones success!!

4.   Image should represent a cohesive band unit – hire a stylist, a good photographer, etc.

5.  Bio’s should be full of quantifiable details – ie. # of cds or downloads sold, # of facebook fans, # of twitter followers, # of concerts performed, etc.  Nobody cares about how you met Billy at the gas station who introduced you to Bobs cousin from New York, etc.  Think about what the top performers today would have in their bio and strive for it; don’t cut yourself short!!

Until you’ve done any of this…I wouldn’ t waste your hard earned money on submitting to anyone, respectfully!!!

Out of Step Entertainment is ready to be represented at this summers Vans Warped Tour to promote the GREEN WASHED RITUAL music compilation.  We’ve been reviewing hundreds of bands for this new compilation and thus far, we’ve only selected 1 who we will announce soon, and possibly a 2nd from sonicbids.com We’ll likely bring back a few of the bands who we highly respect from the 1st compilation – like Rebelution, Slightly Stoopid and Pepper.

Look for BambooSK8/Concrete Wave booth at the 43 dates of the  summer concert – Warped tour – stop by and check out the bamboo skateboards, organic tshirts and other goodies that will be given out.  Most importantly is picking up a postcard which gives you access to all the songs from the compilation.  Be sure to support the passport program at the event and support the non-profits please!!  We collectively can change the world!!

www.vanswarpedtour.com

Out of Step Entertainment and BambooSK8 are pleased to announce their 2nd digital compilation: The Green Washed Ritual II.  It again merges major label acts, independent label acts, as well as regular folks who just want to put out great music including 1 chosen Sonicbids winner.  Last year, Avery Watts, who is represented by Papillon Entertainment was chosen among hundreds of artists for this slot.

Distribution will take place at the various events associated with the presenters across the country, but not limited to the X-games, Vans Warped Tour, Malouf Money cup, ASEC, Tampa AM, Action Sports Retail, as well as the many digital and viral efforts via the Internet.  To start, 25,000 collective series digital download cards will be given out with each skateboard sold by BambooSK8, up to 100,000.  This compilation was the first of its kind and reached millions of action sports and music fans.

A few of the bands included last year were: Medina Lake (Roadrunner), Ana Lovelis (DKE), Story of the Year (Epitaph), Arthur Autumn (Out of Step), Slightly Stoopid (Law) and It dies today (New World).  Check out http://www.bamboosk8.com/misc/music.php

Submissions are open to a variety of genres including: Rock, Alt. Rock, Acoustic Rock, Pop, Jazz, Blues, Folk, Alt. Country, Classical, World, Reggae, Metal, Rap and Hip Hop, etc.  Ultimately, we are looking for something incredibly creative and fresh sounding.

www.bamboosk8.com
BambooSK8 is revolutionizing the skateboard community offering 100% bamboo skateboards instead of the typical 7 layer maple decks that encourage deforestation.

Submit at www.sonicbids.com/greenwashedritual

Having been a fan of Air for many years, it is always a delight to see the French duo of Jean-Benoît Dunckel and Nicolas Godin.  They came to the Los Angeles Disney Hall in support of their latest album, “Love 2″.  Nothing could top them playing the Disney Hall with its amazing acoustics traditionally reserved for symphony-based music.  Despite our seats being near the top, it provided a perfect view for the amazing visuals that accompanied the duo with drummer Joey Waronker.  These visuals often matched the frequency of key notes equating to the exact melodies so you had a perfect visual of the musical waves and the rhythm that matched it.  Other times the visuals circled in a tranquil yet elusive state conjuring up a range of emotions as if I were on pyschedelics.  Musically, their bass tones are amazing and played with such an amazing tasteful style in the vain of Paul McCartney meets Jason Falkner; ironicly the amazingly talented Falkner played bass for them a few years back.  Sonically, they are masters of melody and mood.  Opening act was AM who was pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdoPn8aTBhM - La Femme D’Argent

Check out air on youtube.com

http://www.youtube.com/user/airofficial?blend=1&ob=4

Read more:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/03/live-review-air-at-disney-hall.html

Air concert 007 Disney Hall

Air concert 001 Disney Concert Hall

http://www.cherribombband.com/

Imagine 4 girls that range from 11-13 years old who can play their own instruments, write their own songs, record and produce their music, handle their own marketing direction and much more…  They are better than any cookie cutter project that Disney can assemble.

Lots of A&R personnel moves to report: fourteen A&R Executives left their jobs within the last eight weeks while only five new A&R Execs were hired. Among the transitions were Shawn Barron (Atlantic), Steve Allen, Ben Durling and Bill Holland (Warner Bros.), Sam Mumford (RCA), Ericka Grayson (A&M), Durius Jones (Capitol), David Wright and Angelo Sanders (Def Jam) and Jamie Nelson (Mercury).

You want to make it in the USA as a musician?  Los Angeles specifically?  Contact Out of Step Entertainment for a free chat during the next 2 weeks – email only.  Serious inquiries only.

thanks,

Out of Step Entertainment

Hollywood, California

Every quarter we update our listing with Sonicbids.com, as this keeps the posting fresh and content relevant in terms of what we are looking for.  Towards that end, it’s ultimately finding that one or two bands or artists that we feel we would be best suited to represent.

When submitting to us or anyone for that matter, you should think first – why am I submitting to this company and what do I hope to achieve.  Next, am I prepared for the honest feedback that this company might not like my music.  Everyone has their own objectives and vice versa so one should never get mad at an honest review and I’m hear to tell you – you are going to always get a straight answer from us; critics too!  Assisting you in any way we can is also what we strive to achieve, even if we choose not to work with you.  Whether it is sending you to an attorney we know or an agent or someone who could license your music, we always try to assist or at a minimum recommend a direction we feel would help you further in your career.  Sometimes, it’s just helpless and we can’t do anything.  One should never get mad that they’ve invested $10-12 towards submitting through Sonicbids or any service that provides instant EPK’s.  You have to invest in your career just as you do in any business but putting your money in the right spot is often difficult, and we recognize that; even with limited funds that most bands or artists have.  The lesson is to trust no one at first and educate yourself as much as possible. 

When submitting to us through sonicbids (paid service), we break down a few key things on a scale of 1-10 including but not limited to vocal melody, vocal tone, music hooks, music tone, uniqueness, etc.  It’s our little score card to tell you what we specifically thought of your music.  You can do what you want with it but hopefully it provides you some insight and helps you along your music career.  For us, it’s the least we can do as some people simply never get a response when not accepted by other companies and we want to show you the respect that you deserve.  We know how hard it is to get out there and gain a fanbase while putting your sweat equity into it.  

Oh, and please make sure you have a video on your sonicbids profile and lyrics to the songs and don’t ramble on and on in your bio – stick to key performance indicators – ie. We have grown from 4,500 fans to 75,000 fans in 2 years while performing 150 shows per year, selling an average of $500 per night in merchandise.

There have been massive changes on the A&R front over the last few months. Among the most notable changes include the return of Rob Cavallo as Chief Creative Officer for Warner Music in California, Ed Johnson joining Warner Bros. from EMI Music Publishing, and Darby Bowen joining Epic.  Over in the UK, there was a lot of activity as Zack Strubel joined Columbia, Jos Watkin joins Parlophone, Scott Jason joins Polydor, and Steve Proud joined Warner Bros. Ollie Hodge returns to Columbia-UK from his short stay at Columbia–NY, Angus Blair exits Island, Marc Jones exits Columbia, and Gary Harris exits Warner Bros. In New York, Steve Ralbovsky’s label Canvasback Music joins Atlantic from Sony while Pete Giberga exits Epic, Daniel Davis exits Atlantic while Jamaal Meeks exits SRC. And the big label news (as in not so quietly kept secret) is that Universal Music Group’s CEO Doug Morris is making plans to have Universal’s international chief Lucien Grainge take over as CEO sometime this summer (Morris is expected to remain as Chairman).

Who is Jason Falkner you might ask?  Many will…

Jason is one of the most under-rated pop songwriters of our time who is not that well known; a mere cult following between LA and Japan.  He’s written solo records – playing every instrument, played bass with Air, guitar with Beck,  wrote songs for Brendan Benson,  wrote with Travis, played in Jellyfish, the Grays, etc.

I haven’t seen Jason in quite some time so it was nice to see his new band and songs…  his latest record won’t be out until a little bit later – although already released in Japan on Noise McCartney Records.  I have to say – this time around – I just wasn’t feeling the music… which often happens when a good singer/performer is at the mercy of a crappy PA system like was found at Spaceland.  Also, I think i’m tired of some of those same songs and format I hear every time…  relatively nothing new in terms of song-writing and I guess I just expect so much more out of Jason.  Nonetheless, the show was good and I always enjoy hearing Jason.

Jason – it’s been a while…if you are reading this… hit me up – let’s license some music and write some songs with some key artists I have!!

Check out jason as www.jasonfalkner.net

I was fortunate enough to score a reasonably priced ticket from another fan and joined 103,000 other fans at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena on October 25th.  Opening act was the Black Eyed Peas who were really fun and entertaining, with Slash joining them for a cover of “sweet child o’ mine”.  The 360 tour stage was vastly large at a cost of more than $40 million to build; imagine a giant spaceship claw that rises 200 feet up.  It’s hard to believe but U2 still haven’t broken even on the tour… the cost is approximately $750,000/day of operating costs… despite selling out nearly every stadium/theatre.  Anyhow, what a joy to see these lads from Ireland rock out finally.  I have been a fan for more than 25 years but had never seen them; lame – i know!   I can still recall when Rattle and Hum movie came out at Midnight and I got a free album with it.  I was such a fan and still am of the Joshua Tree – one of my all time favorite recordings.  Even with all the technology and visuals that u2 employs with their big shows – the songs from the Joshua Tree speak to the soul with just the melodies alone.  Amazingly, the red seats at these concerts are auctioned and will raise approximately $9 million to charity.  Bono has done a lot for the world, as has u2 and it’s inspiring… one love, one love, one love.  A highlight for me was seeing the Edge, as I have been a huge fan of his guitar work for many years…  I don’t know any guitar player who thinks that much about their wall of “sound” per se without the desire to be a total shredder showman… but he’s just humbly there doing his role as equal with his bandmates.  A lesson to be learned for many…

http://www.bamboosk8.com/news/2009/10/beverly-hills-90210-tony-hawk-charity-event/

Geoff with Travis Barker of Blink 182

If you want to know if the “rock” is still in rock and roll – then go see Pearl Jam live.  Every single time I see these guys, I’m so proud that they can still rock like they did 20 years ago.  Furthermore, to see the crowd sing along those lyrics word for word tells you just how important and relevant the band is today.  Mike McCready was a wild man on the axe still bouncing around the stage like a teenager whipping out wah-wah solos and bending notes to sonic delight over the tight rhythm of Jeff Ament and Matt Cameron; who is a kick ass drummer.  Eddie said, “If it weren’t for Stone Gossard, Mike would probably still be making pizzas.”  A major highlight was when Chris Cornell (Soundgarden, Audioslave) came out and sang “hunger strike” – a song done by him and Temple of the Dog.  When he hit those super high notes – the crowd went nuts.  Actually, the crowd went even more nuts than they already were just by seeing him.  This song probably hasn’t been sung live by Eddie and Chris in over 19 years.  Eddie  Vedder said, half drunken by his wine intoxication, “Sometimes one man can take an experience beyond its limitations – and then proceeded to introduce Chris Cornell.”  If that weren’t enough, out comes Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains to do the solo to “alive” but yet keeping it true to the penantonic rock blues solo.  Hello Seattle!!  

Pearl Jam had 4 shows at the Gibson, which seats around 8000 people, so the intimate experience was astounding.  Indeed, the roof was knocked off on Tuesday night.

peace,

Geoff Koboldt

pearljamart

2pearljam100609 Pearl Jam

There have been massive changes on the A&R front over the last few months. Among the most notable changes were former RCA A&R Executive Matt Marshall and EMI Music Publishing Executive Ed Jefferson who both join Tom Whalley’s A&R team over at Warner Bros in Burbank. In New York, A&R Veteran Steve Ralbovsky has brought his Canvasback Music label to Atlantic from Sony. Georgina McAvenna joins Rob Stevenson’s team over at Virgin, while Julius Garcia joins Jove and Daniel Mitchell joins Bad Boy. Meanwhile, Ben Adelson exits Universal Republic. Across the pond in London, Columbia’s Nick Huggett joins Island while Philipe Ascoli and Zack Strubel both join Columbia’s A&R team. Former Sony International A&R Executive Ricardo Fernandez joins Geffen. Phil Christie exits Virgin, former Sony Urban A&R Veteran Kawn Prather joins Def Jam South in Atlanta. Also joining Def Jam South is DJ Khaled. In a massive reorganization, Bill Bennett is exiting Warner Bros. Nashville and is being replaced by John Esposito (WEA’s current Ex VP Distribution).

SAN DIEGO, September 9, 2009 – BambooSK8, a leading developer of eco-friendly bamboo skateboard decks, announced today that they have just launched a digital music compilation “The Green Washed Ritual”. This launch coincides with the introduction of 5 revolutionary new bamboo skate decks, and will serve to celebrate the company’s presence at the ASR tradeshow in San Diego, booth #2627, inside the ASEC Green Room.

“Music has the powerful ability to inspire change and there is no better time than now to make life-changing moves towards a more sustainable future – one bamboo skateboard at a time, one download at a time,” said Geoff Koboldt, president, BambooSK8. With the caliber and diversity of bands involved, this compilation has the potential to ignite awareness that no other medium has been able to attain in the action sports world and for that we are sincerely stoked.

Matt Philips of Silverback Music, who represents the artists Slightly Stoopid, Fishbone, Pepper, Rebelution, the Expendables and the Beautiful Girls said, “We are proud to have our artists involved with this innovative project and I respect that BambooSK8 is thinking outside the box! We are finally moving in the direction where music can be used to benefit the environment, which is an exciting time for all. I look forward to seeing companies continue to progress like this, and happy to have our artists contribute to this great cause!”

This revolutionary and energetic compilation consists of a wide variety of genres of music, as well as an eclectic mix of both major and indie label artists who have graciously donated 1 song each to promote sustainability. These artists include CKY, Fishbone, It dies today, Slightly Stoopid, Sex and Patriotism, Theory of Disorder, Rebelution, Story of the Year, Dropout Year, Buck Brothers, Doxy, Social Dropouts, The Beautiful Girls, The Expendables, Madina Lake, Arthur Autumn, The Takeover UK, Vallenbrosa and Avery Watts. Record labels include Roadrunner, Epitaph, Rykodisc/Warner Music Group, Law, Controlled Substance Sound Labs, Nightmare, TrustKill, New Ettiquette/The Orchard, and DKE.

BambooSK8 will provide access to download all 20 digital songs for free with the purchase of either a bamboo skateboard or a bamboo t-shirt off of their website at www.bamboosk8.com

These five brand new eco-friendly skateboard decks by BambooSK8 have been highly anticipated—three 100% bamboo longboards, and two short boards: one 100% bamboo, the other a 70% bamboo hybrid; always with amazing pop and durability.

About BambooSK8
BambooSK8, a manufacturer to the skateboard industry, is breaking new ground (without hurting the environment) by using bamboo, a truly sustainable and environmentally conscious natural resource, to create decks of the highest quality and the lowest eco-impact. BambooSK8 is headquartered in Oceanside, CA and has collectively over 30 years in action sports.

For more information please contact:
Geoff Koboldt – President
geoff@bamboosk8.com
www.bamboosk8.com

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This is coming from another source in the industry but email if you fit the bill and I will forward on…

1. I am seeking songs about death or dead, or about a murderer or killer. Songs that aren’t so obvious would be best. Stuff you might hear in Kill Bill. No Punk, Metal or Heavy Rock. You, the artist must control 100% of the song.
Submission details: Please send myspace links to hear track for consideration. If tracks are not up on myspace, send file via YouSendIt.com. DO NOT send any MP3 files via email. Those emails will be deleted. Nothing of course will be licensed and placed without your permission and license agreement. Deadline: this Monday September 7th. I will submit all appropriate tracks as they come in. 
Email Subject: Song for TV: Killer Song

2. Seeking songs about working hard for money, being broke, easy money, etc. See above for submission details. Deadline: Friday Sept 11th.
Email Subject: Song for TV: hard earned pay song

3. Seeking original Holiday songs. Originals only. Will consider all genre’s. You, the artist must control 100% of the song. Do not send MP3 attachments. Send via YouSendIt.com or similar.
Email Subject: Holiday songs

4. Seeking young female musicians in LA area, or who are willing to come to LA for Audition. High level Producer / A&R vet is still seeking young talented female musicians for major Network TV show. Ages 17-24 Real Age. Must have advanced musical skills. They only need singer and keyboard player. 
Auditions will be held in Los Angeles on Tuesday Sept 8th. 
Please do not email me about this. I do not have any further details. 
Do Not send MP3s, but you can attach a photo. Feel free to forward this to anyone you feel might fit this request. 
Email Barry and send him Myspace link or web site where he can hear and see the artist.

It Might Get Loud, a documentary that consists entirely of Jimmy Page, Jack White and The Edge swapping stories, expounding on their experiences and of course jamming with each other. The film, directed by An Inconvenient Truth helmer Davis Guggenheim, will satisfy casual fans as well as hardcore guitar afficianados.

For me personally, I absolutely loved this film as it shows you that behind-the-scenes feeling of what it was like for these guys to tap into their genius and play from their soul versus just another imitator of their influences.  The kid like smile on Jack White and the Edge’s face as Jimmy page played an old Led Zepplin riff is just touching in the most sincere way of gratitude and respect.  They even take turns playing each others songs – with the edge playing an E minor and then realizing – oops, that was a B minor I was suppose to be playing.  It just shows you how genuine he is, as well as going as far to mentioning each of the other members of the band; no ego whatsoever!  There is no doubt that it was the blues that started it all for these guys…  Son House, Robert Johnson, Blind Willie, etc.  The film was shot all over the world – Ireland, England, Seattle, LA, and Nashville.

Growing up in Michigan, we were very familiar with Jack White who played drums in a band called Goober and the peas, and then obviously Brendan Benson who Jack formed the Raconteurs with, although Brendan Benson is far more talented as a song writer in my opinion.  In fact, we once had drinks with all of them next to the Troubador about 4 years ago after Brendans show… Jack is incredibly tall and suspiciously nervous all the time – like who wants to steal my soul now? ahah!  I remember being in Europe in 2003 and everywhere I went – all i saw was the White Stripes being advertised.  It’s nice to see Jack just pick up any crappy guitar and put soul into it… and even cooler that he is from Michigan and kept it pretty real all these years.

My 2 cents,

Geoff Koboldt

To be honest, it’s been a while since I’ve taken the time to sit down with the Major Lable A&R executives, and with good reason – those guys are replaced every few months as the labels downsize!  On the contrary, this panel had some top guys ( Max Gousse-Sr. VP A&R Island/Def Jam, Raj Jadeja-Director A&R Atlantic, Jeff Blue-A&R Consultant/Producer Jive and Michael Howe-VP A&R Downtown Records) who have weathered the storm for many years, so I took the time to head down to the Musicians Institute and listen.  If I were to sum of up the experience, it’s that NOTHING HAS TRULY CHANGED WITH THE MAJOR LABELS.  It’s the same broken record…same broken business model…same everything but now with even less time to develop a band, less money to put into marketing, less people on the team to support you, etc.  There is no doubt that these guys jobs are tough but they work super hard 24/7 to find that next breaking band with very limited time and resources.  Yet, so many people would still rather take their chances on a major label than get creative and find a way to do it themselves.  It’s a catch-22 and I know it is a very tough situation; easier said than done for sure!  So I’m sure you all have many questions so I will do my best to answer some of the key questions:

1) What is the best way to reach the MAJOR label executives?

Major label executives are not out going to see bands period!  They literally only trust high profiled lawyers, producers, agents and other key folks in the industry; that’s the same business philosophy they have had for 50+ years and look at where they are at now!!  A friend recently told me – If i was a label – I would fire everyone of these A&R guys and hire me some 15-16 year old kids who are much more in tune with what’s popular!!  I’m not in their shoes to say anything, but i would imagine its a very tough job to be true to that artist while also making money for your company – ie. the label.

2)  How do I find these top lawyers, agents and other key people?

There are numerous sources out there including the A&R registry, pollstar online, etc.  Granted, these things cost money – but business is all about investing!  Here at Out of Step, we do our best to know who is on top of their game to best help you… but with technology ever-changing the music landscape, the opportunity is now for each and everyone of you to do your own thing!

3) What are major labels looking for these days?

They are looking for “believe-ability” – that you aren’t faking this and would die for this opportunity.  They are looking for hard working people.  Like most things in life, it’s those that work smarter and harder than the next guy; it’s not about talent necessarily.  They don’t care if you write your own songs – plenty of top songwriters will write your songs for you and top producers who will produce it.  Again, these top guys cost about $50-100,000 per song minimum.  So, the question that comes from these answers then is – how the hell do stay creative and not become a puppet?  Only you can answer that…  Labels are also doing some 360 deals these days, 1 song signings and making a lot of their money in the publishing.  Towards that end, it’s the publishing that seems to save a lot of bands.  Positive news is that bands seem to be getting a 2nd chance if the 1st record doesn’t flop…but the days of 3 or 4 or 5 tries is in the past.  SAD!

If submitting to Out of Step for management, it is likely, we will have to develop you to get you “right” for that one shot with the majors, if that’s the route you want to go.

thanks,
Geoff Koboldt

Photo with Raj from Atlantic Records

After attending the group Y conference for action sports at the Home Depot Center from 8am-3pm, I headed over to the X-games at the Staples Center to watch the mega ramp event at 6pm, in which Jake Brown won – beating out defending 2x back-to-back champion Bob Burnquist.  Around 8:45pm, I walked across the street for the red carpet ceremony of the releasing of the X-games 3D movie at the Nokia Theatre.  A wide variety of celebrities (Pamela Anderson for one) and action sports athletes (Shaun White, Andy Macdonald, Kevin Robinson) and business folks were in attendance.  I took my intern Shawn with me and we rolled down the red carpet like rock stars as people stared like “who the hell are these guys?”  Here’s a photo with Slash.

Out of Step Entertainment

For more photos from the event – click on:

http://jeffknightphotography.com/gallery/9105772_K5gzS#606846512_L83TN

Slowly but surely, we are getting there with the large-scale music project “the Green Washed Ritual” – a digital compilation for BambooSK8.  We are currently securing sponsors, developing the website page, finalizing legal contracts with labels and management, etc.  Official release will most likely be in early September in time for the Action Sports Retail show.  Current labels on the project include Epitaph, WMG, Roadrunner, Trustkill, as well as management from Silverback Artist Management, New World Artist Management and Out of Step Entertainment.

Check out Yellow Rat Bastard Magazine (YRB) out of New York for a recent ad featuring this compilation, as well as a host of artists painting on the bamboo skateboards.

There have been massive changes on the A&R front over the last few months. At Sony in New York, Scott Graves exits Epic while Steve Ralbovsky exits Canvasback. Over at Atlantic, Shani Gonzales and Steve Owens exit while Joe Augustine exists Hybrid. Eddie Weathers and Eric Spec both exit Island leaving no Creative A&R Staff at Island Records in New York. Over at EMI, Mike Bailey exits Manhattan while Gabriella Cudjoe exits Music World. Over in the UK, both Valerie Gross and Oliver Warzola exit Decca, John Leahy exits Domino and Ricardo Fernandez exits Sony. Josh Sarubin joins Virgin and Kevin Carvell joins A&M/Octone as West Coast A&R. Lorne Behrman joins Razor & Tie, Jeff Sledge joins Battery, Lisa Ramsey joins Sony Music in Nashville and Samantha Rosenman joins Music World. We also want to make sure that you are aware that several companies have moved to new locations including Astralwerks, Lizard King-NY, Nashville Underground, Breaking, Great Society and Robbins-NY. Jay-Z’s label Roc Nation (Sony) has opened their doors in New York and Lil Wayne’s new label Young Money (Universal) is open as well.

Went over to the Home Depot Center to see Coldplay in an outdoor format which was very special… hadn’t seen them in a few years since promoting their show at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles for Capitol Records.  They were still very solid as a band with high energy.  They kept things moving with the crowd by releasing yellow baloons during “yellow”, or confetti during “viva la vida”, or doing the wave with cell phones, or walking through the crowd all the way to the back of the arena where a makeshift little stage was made for them, then busting out “billy jean” by Michael Jackson.  While it was a quick set, it was a great performance with very touching lyrics, british wit, complete humbleness and gratitude for the crowd and opening bands, etc.

There have been massive changes on the A&R front over the last few months. Jeff Levin joins Atlantic while Sunny Lee joins Motown and Tom Lee joins Mercury. Max Gousse, David Wright and Angelo Sanders all join Island’s West Coast office. We’re always sad to report exits from the A&R World. Kenny ‘Tic’ Salcido and Joseph Weinberger exit Warner Bros., Lorne Behrman exits Blue Note, Susan Riley exits Word in Nashville and Steve Buckingham exits Vanguard. – A&R registry

My buddy Brent and I went over to Universal Studios Gibson Ampitheatre yesterday for the 2009 Mtv Movie Awards.  I have to say it was a pretty damn funny good time, especially seeing Bruno (Sasha Cohen) drop his ass in Eminem’s face.  We watched Kings of Leon perform who were okay but definitely killed the mood of the event, while Eminim was great to finally see live but not sure the crowd was that into him.  Andy Samberg did a great job hosting the event.  We saw tons of folks like Will Ferrell, Ben Stiller, Twilight kids, Zach Efron, Jim Carrey, and many many more.

Looking forward to next year…

geoff koboldt

BambooSK8, Out of Step Entertainment and New World Artist Management presents “The Green Washed Ritual”. This digital compilation features more than 25 artists from major label, independent label and simply those who could care less about a label. We are also offering a rare opportunity for 1 unsigned band to be picked from Sonicbids. Go to www.sonicbids.com/outofstep and submit now. This compilation will be released for free to to the fans of action sports, skateboarding focused through numerous distribution channels including the EXPN X-games, Action Sports Retail show, Burningman, Coachella, Malouf Money Cup, King of Groms, Tampa Pro/Am, and so much more.

Submit music at:  www.sonicbids.com/greenwashedritual

thanks,
Geoff Koboldt

Out of Step Entertainment made the trek from LA out to the sunny desert of Indio for an action packed Coachella on Sunday.  This was the 2nd largest Coachella with 188,000 fans.  Highlight for me as always is seeing the Cure, who headlined (2nd time at Coachella) and performed almost 1 hour past the curfew of midnight costing Coachella $1000/minute.  For those who know the Cure, the Cure don’t even get warmed up to literally after 2 hours of playing; seasoned veterans.  Other highlights was seeing Public Enemy, the Orb, Perry Farrell (only veteran to play all 10 coachellas), X, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, My Bloody Valentine, and many more.  Many art installations were found throughout the polo fields, many of which can be found at Burningman.  The Do Lab did a wonderful job of spraying people down with cold water and providing top notch beats.  Looking forward to next year…

Speaking of genius, Prince is just that…  who else can sing, dance and wail on guitar while writing their own songs, controlling nearly every aspect of their copyright, understanding how to use technology, etc.  I have been fortunate to see Prince numerous times – Staples Center, House of Blues, Emerald Club, Nokia, Rio, Coachella, etc.

His most recent show at the Nokia theatre while stripped down to bare minimum was truthfully soulful – unmatched like years past… Despite sound issues, Prince trekked on and commanded the crowd with every move.  What’s most amazing is humbleness with age… very little ego while allowing the others in the band to shine.  Furthermore, his allowing of some fans on stage who got the opportunity to hug him… then at the end of the show taking the time to shake hands with those in the front row, while thanking GOD for his blessings.  check out www.lotusflow3r.com

- Out of Step Geoff Koboldt

Out of Step Entertainment artist Ana Lovelis

www.analovelis.com - ANA LOVELIS

www.myspace.com/analovelis - ANA LOVELIS

www.twitter.com/thefallenwoman - FALLEN WOMAN

www.myspace.com/doxyband - DOXY

We are currently in development on a scripted TV series for Ms. Lovelis, who is the essence of pure talented genius.

www.twitter.com/outofstep90272

 5/1/9

OUT OF STEP ENTERTAINMENT will be revamping the website to reflect the new business strategy for 2009.  We thank you humbly for all of your support and look forward to bringing you many great new artists/bands that will inspire you.

In the meantime, you can find us at:

www.myspace.com/outofstepla 

www.sonicbids.com/outofstep  – TAKING SUBMISSIONS NOW!!

thanks,

Geoff Koboldt, President

OUT OF STEP ENTERTAINMENT

8033 Sunset Blvd.

Suite 186

Hollywood, CA 90046

***Los Angeles Entertainment***